Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 830

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 830
A lay disciple of the Wudang Sect.
Though I didn’t learn the Wudang Sect’s secret techniques, the martial arts I studied as a lay disciple were no trivial matter.
First, there was the matter of age.
The greatest problem with elderly diabetes.
Age itself.
A race against time.
“Can you help me? I’ll do anything for that.”
“….”
The elderly man’s eyes were kindling with flame for the first time in ages.
I couldn’t remember the last time he’d made such a firm decision in his life. Yet despite everything, he was pushing forward.
Can flowers bloom on an ancient, gnarled tree?
There’s no way to know.
I straightened my posture as well. Then I touched my temples and returned to my original face.
*Click*
The ordinary doctor’s face transformed into the visage of an incomparably handsome man.
“Huh…?!”
Jeong Gajang gasped in surprise.
“I am Jin Cheon-hee, Sojakju of Baekrin Uiseon.”
“My… you were… Prefect Jin.”
‘I thought he’d call me Sojakju, but he’s mentioning the prefect position. I suppose it’s because he’s a local magnate in this area.’
I opened my mouth with that thought.
“I do hold such a position, but… I’ve come here simply as a doctor.”
“Hehe. The Wudang King and even the Blue-Eyed Divine Doctor. In my twilight years, I’ve met such remarkable people.”
Jeong Gajangju laughed for a long while, as if he’d heard the regrets of his own life, before finally asking the main question.
“Then truly… can I survive?”
“Haven’t they said that even a mere human’s will can change the will of heaven? Let us try together.”
“I beg you earnestly. For this child’s sake… at least until this child can have his wedding ceremony, this old man must do something, mustn’t he?”
“Aba…abababa.”
At the sound the child made, Jeong Gajangju sighed.
“Look at that. He wouldn’t make such sounds if he were missing his deceased father.”
Suddenly, I recalled what Cheonwoo had said.
“No, I think he’s saying ‘hababababa’?”
“Hababababa?”
“Yes. It seems he already recognizes his grandfather.”
That couldn’t be right.
My mind knew it was nonsense, yet something suddenly welled up in my throat.
“Yes. Grandfather. Grandfather.”
“Abababa…zzzzaaa!”
“What a gifted child.”
“That’s right. Grandfather.”
Jeong Gajangju embraced the child.
“This little one will someday climb Mudang Mountain as well.”
Just as the children of the Jeong clan have always done.
Since the peach blossoms first bloomed and this village was founded, just as my ancestors and their ancestors did before them.
All the children will train on Mudang Mountain and learn every small detail.
And when they return, they will brew peach blossom wine.
Or they might cause heartache by refusing to do so.
That was now this child’s choice to make.
“It would be wonderful if they also learned to brew pomelo wine on Mudang Mountain.”
At my words, Jeong Gajang nodded.
“The pomelo wine of Mudang Mountain is the finest delicacy under heaven.”
“Bwahahaha!”
The child laughs, and the grandfather laughs too.
The sound of life itself.
* * *
Jeong Seok-yeong.
Decades ago, he trained at the Mudang Sect, yet few in the Gangho know of his existence.
There was good reason for it.
While a lay disciple of the Mudang Sect held a rather special status, in the broader Gangho, he was merely one of countless ordinary warriors, no more significant than a grain of sand.
Moreover, despite being a lay disciple.
He lacked talent.
He could learn external techniques and martial forms, but when it came to cultivating inner energy, he struggled to keep pace with others no matter how hard he tried.
‘No talent.’
In matters of qi cultivation, he possessed inferior talent compared to others.
In his youth, he lamented this fact, but he was still the eldest son of Jeong Gajang.
He returned to the family and inherited the family business.
The household had always been short-handed anyway.
My parents seemed somewhat relieved that their son did not venture into the Gangho.
At the time, I did not understand my parents’ contradictory hearts—wanting me to climb Mudang Mountain yet hoping I would live safely.
He married and had one child.
He sent his son to train at the Mudang Sect as well, and the boy proved more talented than Jeong Seok-yeong himself, eventually becoming one of the most renowned masters among the sect’s lay disciples.
‘How joyful and admirable that was.’
Watching qi surge from his son’s blade, cutting through metal and stone as easily as tofu—I could not help but laugh.
Even now, thinking of it sends shivers down my spine.
When his son came of age, he ventured into the Gangho following his youthful vigor.
He endeavored to practice righteous conduct according to the teachings of the Mudang Sect.
Then he met a woman from the Gangho and married her.
He had a child and showed me my grandson.
While the grandson, still young, went to the Mudang Sect and devoted himself to training.
My proud and beloved son returned as a corpse.
This is the Gangho.
This is the world you took such joy in.
It felt as though Heaven itself was speaking these words.
‘Only then did this foolish man come to understand my parents’ hearts.’
Had I known it would come to this… martial arts and such. I would never have let him learn.
And time passed again. My grandson returned from the Wudang Sect as an even greater master than my son.
That was.
Both joyful and terrifying.
Now the old man understood why his parents had worn such expressions when they said his son lacked talent.
This child was all I had.
The elderly man feared what might become of his only remaining blood relative.
Had his impatience born from that fear become the poison that destroyed everything?
My grandson left to become a monk and never sent word.
And.
Not long after, he returned as a corpse.
It was around the time the old man’s feet were beginning to rot away.
* * *
I thoroughly cleaned and disinfected an empty room, then installed formation arrays around it to establish a life-preserving formation.
‘While this place isn’t rich in earth veins, I’ll ultimately have to rely on my own inner energy.’
It’s not comparable to the sterile chamber at Baekrin Uiseon, but even this makes a world of difference from field treatment.
Next, I bathed Jeong Gajangju and had him change into freshly washed clothes.
Very basic matters.
And then dietary management, dietary management, and more dietary management.
Given his advanced age and the possibility his condition could change at any moment, I continued to take his pulse and restrict his diet accordingly.
Among the medicinal preparations he needed to take, some were bitter enough to cause nausea, yet Jeong Gajangju never refused them.
That was fortunate.
“Peep peep peep!”
I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes to my great-grandson crawling about on all fours, wreaking havoc in every direction.
“This old man must do something about it.”
Restricting meals is possible through willpower. Taking bitter medicinal preparations at every meal was also manageable.
Taking his pulse and administering insulin—the fruit of our chicks’ efforts?
Enduring a needle prick is the easiest thing among all of this.
And fortunately, and this is truly fortunate…
‘He doesn’t have alcohol addiction.’
Since he was someone who made alcohol, I expected he’d likely suffer from alcoholism, but he was surprisingly sound.
“Alcohol? I drink it because it’s my work. I have a cup when I’m in good spirits. I won’t drink tasteless alcohol, so I’m selective about it. Since it’s my work, perhaps I’m even stricter about it.”
Truly a blessing from Heaven.
Alcohol addiction is the enemy of diabetes.
More than half of the patients who come for alcohol addiction treatment suffer from diabetes and hypertension.
Diabetes in old age combined with alcohol addiction? There’s nothing a doctor can do about that.
Ultimately, he must overcome it through his own willpower, because addiction isn’t called addiction for nothing.
“Even if alcohol calls to me, I must live first, mustn’t I? I won’t let a single drop touch my tongue until I’ve defeated this illness.”
This year’s peach wine is finished. It’s possible it won’t be made next year either.
Even so, living comes first.
Though brewing alcohol every year might seem impressive, sometimes it’s surprisingly trivial.
“Squawk!”
This is one of those times.
I laid down a waterproof cloth at the bottom as a final measure.
Then I took Jeong Gajangju’s pulse, took it again, observed his condition, and recorded it.
Finally, the moment came when Jeong Gajangju’s physical condition seemed acceptable.
“From now on, I’ll be performing the Bloodline Cleansing technique. Even for young people, it’s quite painful. Given your age, I imagine the suffering will be difficult to describe in any words.”
“I understand.”
“The pain is severe enough that you might lose consciousness from it alone. So even if the effectiveness is reduced… I intend to use pressure points to keep you unconscious.”
“I’ve heard that diabetes makes pressure point techniques dangerous. Will it be alright?”
That’s not wrong.
Diabetes makes anesthesia difficult.
By anesthesia, I mean not just general anesthesia, but even local anesthesia, which is considered relatively safe, becomes difficult.
The aftereffects differ from ordinary people, and combined with advanced age, it can be even more dangerous.
‘At least Gangho has one advantage over the modern era—anesthesia.’
Pressure point techniques.
The traditional anesthesia of Gangho.
Of course, prolonged pressure point application can also cause patient death, so careful control is equally necessary.
But still, the omnipotent Qi exists, doesn’t it?
In the name of yin-yang and the five elements, the safety margin is on a completely different level from pharmaceutical methods.
And the other doctors who came with me will monitor the condition and provide assistance.
Upon hearing this explanation, the patient responded thus.
“If the effectiveness will be reduced, I’ll endure it to the end.”
“Even grown young men struggle with this.”
Did my words touch something in the elderly man?
Jeong Gajang spoke.
“If it becomes too difficult and I say I can’t continue, then we simply stop, don’t we? If that’s not the case, I’d rather not receive treatment at all.”
An iron-willed stubbornness.
‘Sigh, this will truly be difficult for him…’
I spoke.
“If you insist… very well. Then I’ll prepare accordingly. If you seem unable to endure it during the procedure, I’ll stop immediately. Can we agree on that?”
“Yes!”
‘This is the problem with Gangho people. Once they’ve decided something in their hearts, they won’t change it even if the heavens split in two.’
It seemed Jeong Gajangju believed that if he could endure this Bloodline Cleansing, he would surely be able to overcome future hardships as well.
That wasn’t wrong.
If someone can endure that with a clear mind, they’re capable of anything.
‘That’s why Eun Wang-ya’s poison is so insane.’
There’s a madman living nearby, receiving the Venom Cleansing Technique raw every year.
But only Eun Wang-ya.
And even then, it’s because she’ll die if the backlash recurs.
Most people try to use hybrid techniques, even if the effectiveness is significantly reduced.
It’s the research achievement of Baekrin Uiseon’s research division.
While taking medicine and using hybrid techniques, the Venom Cleansing Technique doesn’t hurt quite so much.
Yet Jeong Gajangju was determined to endure everything with his body alone.
Simply because the effectiveness would be reduced.
“I believe in the Wall-Eyed Divine Doctor. Having come this far, what could I not believe in? I believe.”
“It’s good that you believe in me, but this is only possible if you believe in yourself.”
“I will believe. I’ve lost my wife, my son, my grandson. What could I possibly fear?”
“Abababababa!”
At the child’s voice, light returned to Jeong Gajang’s eyes.
“You see? My great-grandson is calling me grandfather!”
* * *
In the end, Jeong Gajangju decided to receive the Venom Cleansing Technique with a clear mind, without using any hybrid techniques.
Jeong Gajangju lay in the center of the room, surrounded by Jin Cheon-hee and the other medical staff.
“Normally we’d use middle-aged men for this, but well, the medical volunteer work just ended anyway. We should see our Sojakju’s skills too.”
These medical staff stood with their arms crossed at angles, each offering their own comment.
“Well, I’ve raised one junior well at least. Wow… they’re all already trying to devour me.”
When Jin Cheon-hee laughed, the other medical staff laughed along with him.
“What about it? The Sogal medicine had good therapeutic effects too. We still haven’t named it, right?”
Insulin.
Though it was hidden by this world’s martial arts, it was undoubtedly a miracle drug.
A medicine that moves people and saves lives.
The chicks I raised discovered it in the Murim realm.
On Earth it was discovered in a dog’s pancreas, but here it was discovered in a pig’s pancreas—that’s the difference.
In the end, no matter which path you take, you arrive at the same destination.
The doctor thinks.
Can I truly bear that weight?
‘Yes. Now it’s my turn to accomplish this.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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